Anwar overnight detention not necessary - Police Bail option should have been used.

A person arrested can be released on police bail, with the condition that he returns the following morning (or some other time the police can fix) for the purpose of continuing with the investigations.

Even if the person arrested is to be charged in court the following day, he can be released on police bail now requiring him to be present in court whatever time required.

Police Bail is not given when a person is a flight-risk - i.e. he will run and disappear.

I do not believe that Anwar is such a person who will not turn up for continued investigation at the police station, or at court to be charged...

BUT then the police may argue that he may run off to the Turkish embassy, etc...again (sad...but they may have a point there...)

But then the police may argue that he will not turn up in the police station as he did the 1st time he was supposed to go to the police station... (again they may have a point there...)

Anyway, the law provides that the police can only detain him for less than 24 hours - any further detention would require an order of the Magistrate..
[Note they do not have to take him to the Magistrate's court - they can always bring the Magistrate to the police station..]

BREACH of the law by the police -- when they did not stop investigation at 6.30pm. The Lock-Up Rules are very clear - i.e. from 6.30pm until 6.30am, the arrested is to be in his lock-up - not being continuously subject to interrogations or other investigations...

Maybe, earlier there may have been some indication that Anwar shall be released today after the investigations -- and that maybe was the reason why he went along despite a violation of his rights...

MCPX

"PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will be spending the night in police custody. However, it could be not be ascertained whether he would be held at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters or a different location.

"They are keeping him tonight. Their excuse is they need to take further statements," said lawyer Sankara Nair.

"They are not giving him bail, I have no idea how much longer he will be detained," he told reporters, adding that he was unsure if he would remain at the police headquarters where Anwar was undergoing questioning...." - Malaysiakini, 16/7/2008 -PKR supremo detained overnight

MCPX

Before the lapse of 24 hours, if the police want to further detain Anwar, they will have to go to the Magistrate and get a remand order.

Today, the law(the Criminal Procedure Code) has changed and no more is there the risk of getting a remand order for 14 days -- now, in this case of Anwar, where it is with regard an offence where the sentence is more than 14 years, the police can get a remand order of "not be more than seven days" on their 1st application.

117. Procedure where investigation cannot be completed within twenty-four hours.

(1) Whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within the period of twenty-four hours fixed by section 28 and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well founded the police officer making the investigation shall immediately transmit to a Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary hereinafter prescribed relating to the case and shall at the same time produce the accused before the Magistrate.

(2) The Magistrate before whom an accused person is produced under this section may, whether he has or has no jurisdiction to try the case, authorize the detention of the accused in such custody as follows:

(a) if the offence which is being investigated is punishable with imprisonment of less than fourteen years, the detention shall not be more than four days on the first application and shall not be more than three days on the second application; or

(b) if the offence which is being investigated is punishable with death or imprisonment of fourteen years or more, the detention shall not be more than seven days on the first application and shall not be more than seven days on the second application.

[Subs. Act A1274]

(3) The officer making the investigation shall state in the copy of the entries in the diary referred to in subsection (1), any period of detention of the accused immediately prior to the application, whether or not such detention relates to the application.

[Ins. Act A1274]

(4) The Magistrate, in deciding the period of detention of the accused person, shall take into consideration any detention period immediately prior to the application, whether or not such detention relates to the application.

[Ins. Act A1274]

(5) The Magistrate in deciding the period of detention of the accused shall allow representations to be made either by the accused himself or through a counsel of his choice.

[Ins. Act A1274]

(6) If the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to try the case and considers further detention unnecessary he may order the accused person to be produced before a Magistrate having such jurisdiction or, if the case is triable only by the High Court, before himself or another Magistrate having jurisdiction with a view to transmission for trial by the High Court.

[Ins. Act A1274]

[Am. Act A1132 - Prior text read - "The Magistrate before whom an accused person is produced under this section may, whether he has or has not jurisdiction to try the case, from time to time authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as the Magistrate thinks fit for a term not exceeding fifteen days in the whole. If he has no jurisdiction to try the case and considers further detention unnecessary he may order the accused person to be produced before a Magistrate having such jurisdiction or, if the case is triable only by the High Court, before himself or another Magistrate having jurisdiction with a view to committal for trial by the High Court."]

(7) A Magistrate authorising under this section detention in the custody of the police shall record his reasons for so doing.

[Am. Act A324; Am. Act A1274]

Anwar should be placed in a police lock-up just like anybody else - there must be no Discrimination.